Automatic power adjustments based on tubing state detection for tube welding devices

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/455,817 filed on Mar. 30, 2023. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to tube welding devices configured to automatically adjust one or more parameters as applied to a wafer (for example, in response to the presence or absence of a fluid in tubes to be joined) and methods of using the same.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Tube welding machines (also referred to as tube welding devices) are used for connecting closed end tubes which are often connected to bags or similar containers to carry, for example, blood or blood components. Tube welding devices commonly include first and second tube-holding assemblies (e.g., first and second clamps) configured to receive first and second tubes and a space between the first and second tube-holding assemblies configured to receive a wafer (e.g., heated blade), where the tubing welding device is configured to send energy to the space such that the wafer can be heated to desired temperatures. A process used in conjunction with a tubing welding device may include sending energy to the wafer to heat the wafer to a desired temperature and urging the heated wafer into contact with each tube held by the tube-holding assemblies to temporarily seal together opposing surfaces of the respective tubes and create molten tube ends. At least a portion of one or both of the first and second tube-holding assemblies may then be moved to align and join together the molten tube ends of the first and second tubes. The joint may be cooled and subjected to a stress to open the temporary seals providing fluid communication between the as-joined first and second tubes.

Tubing that includes fluid often requires a higher wafer temperature to produce an adequate weld as compared to tubing where fluid is absent. Common methods for using tubing welding devices often address these differing requirements by selecting a median temperature that is between the higher and lower temperatures. These approaches, however, often result in burning tubing when fluid is absent and week welds when fluid is present. It would be desirable to develop systems, and processes for using the same, that can address these challenges.

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a tube welding device for joining two tubes.

In at least one example embodiment, the tube welding device may include a first tube-holding assembly that can be configured to receive a first portion of a first tube and a first portion of a second tube. The first tube-holding assembly may include a first detector, where the first detector may be configured to detect the presence or absence of fluid in the first tube and to generate a first signal indicative of the same. The tube welding device may further include a second tube-holding assembly that can be configured to receive a second portion of the first tube and a second portion of the second tube. The second tube-holding assembly may include a second detector, where the second detector may be configured to detect the presence or absence of fluid in the second tube and to generate a second signal indicative of the same. The tube welding device may also include a wafer disposed between at least a portion of the first tube-holding assembly and at least a portion of the second tube-holding assembly. The tube-welding device may be configured to heat the wafer to a tube-joining temperature and to bring the wafer heated to the tube-joining temperature into contact with the first and second tubes. The tube welding device may also include a controller that is configured, for example, to receive the first and second signals, to select the tube-joining temperature in response to the presence or absence of fluid in the first and second tubes, and to cause an appropriate power level to be sent to the wafer to generate the tube-joining temperature.

In at least one example embodiment, when fluid is absent from the first and second tubes, the controller may be configured to send a first power level to the wafer to generate a first tube-joining temperature.

In at least one example embodiment, when fluid is present in one of the first and second tubes and is absent from the other of the first and second tubes, the controller may be configured to send a second power level to the wafer to generate a second tube-joining temperature that is greater than the first tube-joining temperature.

In at least one example embodiment, when fluid is present in both of the first and second tubes, the controller may be configured to send a third power level to the wafer to generate a third tube-joining temperature that is greater than the second tube-joining temperature.

In at least one example embodiment, the first tube-holding assembly may include a first cavity for receiving the first portion of the first tube and a second cavity for receiving the first portion of the second tube.

In at least one example embodiment, the second tube-holding assembly may include a third cavity for receiving the second portion of the first tube and a fourth cavity for receiving the second portion of the second tube.

In at least one example embodiment, in a first position the first tube-holding assembly may be aligned with the second tube-holding assembly such that the first cavity of the first tube-holding assembly is in line with the third cavity of the second tube-holding assembly and the second cavity of the first tube-holding assembly is in line with the third cavity of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the first detector may be disposed within the first cavity of the first tube-holding assembly, and the second detector may be disposed within the fourth cavity of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the first tube-holding assembly may include a first bottom portion and a first top portion, where the first bottom portion may include a first crevice and a second crevice, the first top portion may include a third crevice and a fourth crevice, the first crevice of the first bottom portion and the third crevice of the first top portion may align to form the first cavity, and the second crevice of the first bottom portion and the fourth crevice of the first top portion may align to form the second cavity. The second tube-holding assembly may include a second bottom portion and a second top portion, the second bottom portion may include a first crevice and a second crevice, the second top portion may include a third crevice and a fourth crevice, the first crevice of the second bottom portion and the third crevice of the second top portion may align to form the third cavity, and the second crevice of the second bottom portion and the fourth crevice of the second top portion may align to form the fourth cavity. The first detector may be disposed within the first crevice of the first bottom portion of the first tube-holding assembly, and the second detector may be disposed within the second crevice of the second bottom portion of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the first tube-holding assembly may include a first bottom portion and a first top portion, where the first bottom portion may include a first crevice and a second crevice, the first top portion may include a third crevice and a fourth crevice, the first crevice of the first bottom portion and the third crevice of the first top portion may align to form the first cavity, and the second crevice of the first bottom portion and the fourth crevice of the first top portion may align to form the second cavity. The second tube-holding assembly may include a second bottom portion and a second top portion, the second bottom portion may include a first crevice and a second crevice, the second top portion may include a third crevice and a fourth crevice, the first crevice of the second bottom portion and the third crevice of the second top portion may align to form the third cavity, and the second crevice of the second bottom portion and the fourth crevice of the second top portion may align to form the fourth cavity. The first detector may be disposed within the third crevice of the first top portion of the first tube-holding assembly, and the second detector may be disposed within the fourth crevice of the second top portion of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the first detector may be disposed within the second cavity of the first tube-holding assembly, and the second detector may be disposed within the third cavity of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the tube welding device may be configured to move the at least a portion of at least one of the first tube-holding assembly and the second tube-holding assembly such that the first tube-holding assembly and the second tube-holding assembly are in a second position where the first cavity of the first tube-holding assembly may be brought in line with the fourth cavity of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the tube welding device may be configured to move the at least a portion of at least one of the first tube-holding assembly and the second tube-holding assembly such that the first tube-holding assembly and the second tube-holding assembly are in a second position where the second cavity of the first tube-holding assembly may be brought in line with the third cavity of the second tube-holding assembly.

In at least one example embodiment, the first and second detectors may each include a push switch, a Hall-effect sensor, an optical switch, a magnetic switch, an inductive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or any combination thereof.

In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a method for using a tube welding device.

In at least one example embodiment, the method may include receiving, by a processor, input from a first sensor aligned with a first clamp configured to receive at least a portion of a first tube, the first sensor configured to detect a presence or absence of fluid in the first tube; receiving, by a processor, input from a second sensor aligned with a second clamp configured to receive at least a portion of a second tube, the second sensor configured to detect a presence or absence of fluid in the second tube; and supplying, by a processor, power to a wafer disposed between the first clamp and the second clamp, where an amount of the supplied power may be at a first preselected power level when fluid is absent in both the first tube and the second tube, at a second preselected power level greater than the first power level when fluid is present in one of the first tube and the second tube and absent in the other of the first tube and the second tube, and at a third preselected power level greater than the second power level when fluid is present in both the first tube and the second tube.

In at least one example embodiment, the method may further include moving the wafer, as or after the power is applied the wafer, from a first wafer position to a second wafer position to form a first molten tube end in the first tube and a second molten tube end in the second tube.

In at least one example embodiment, the method may further include moving at least a portion of the first clamp or of the second clamp form a first clamp position to a second clamp position to align and join the first molten tube end and the second molten tube end to form a continuous tube.

In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a method for preparing a continuous tube from a first tube and a second tube.

In at least one example embodiment, the method may include heating a wafer disposed between a first clamp configured to receive a portion of a first tube and including a first sensor and a second clamp configured to receive a portion of a second tube and including a second sensor. The first sensor may be configured to detect a presence or absence of fluid in the first tube. The second sensor may be configured to detect a presence or absence of fluid in the second tube. The wafer may be heated to a first preselected temperature when fluid is absent from both the first tube and the second tube, a second preselected temperature when fluid is present in one of the first tube and the second tube and absent from the other of the first tube and the second tube, and a third preselected temperature when fluid is present in both of the first tube and the second tube. The method may further include, as or after the wafer is heated, moving the wafer from a first wafer position to a second wafer position to form a first molten tube end and a second molten tube end, and/or moving at least a portion of the first clamp position or of the second clamp position from a first clamp position to a second clamp position to align and join the first molten tube end and the second molten tube end to form the continuous tube.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In at least one example embodiment, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected, or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer, or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

In this application, including the definitions below, the term “module” or the term “controller” may be replaced with the term “circuit.” The term “module” may refer to, be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog/digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip.

The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that are connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple modules may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (also known as remote, or cloud) module may accomplish some functionality on behalf of a client module.

The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and/or objects. The term shared processor circuit encompasses a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term group processor circuit encompasses a processor circuit that, in combination with additional processor circuits, executes some or all code from one or more modules. References to multiple processor circuits encompass multiple processor circuits on discrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term shared memory circuit encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple modules. The term group memory circuit encompasses a memory circuit that, in combination with additional memories, stores some or all code from one or more modules.

The term memory circuit is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium may therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium are nonvolatile memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit, an erasable programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only memory circuit), volatile memory circuits (such as a static random access memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (such as an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive), and optical storage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc).

The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that are stored on at least one non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also include or rely on stored data. The computer programs may encompass a basic input/output system (BIOS) that interacts with hardware of the special purpose computer, device drivers that interact with particular devices of the special purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, such as HTML (hypertext markup language), XML (extensible markup language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from source code by a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. As examples only, source code may be written using syntax from languages including C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and Python®.

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An example tube welding device (also referred to as a tube-joining machine)is illustrated in. The tube welding deviceincludes a tube clamp arrangementthat is configured to receive at least a portion of a first tubeand at least a portion of a second tube. The first and second tubes,may be connected to bags or similar containers carrying, for example, blood or blood components. In at least one example embodiment, the tube clamp arrangementincludes a first tube-holding assembly (which may also be referred to as a first tube-receiving assembly)adjacent to a second tube-holding assembly (also may also be referred to as a second tube-receiving assembly). In at least one example embodiment, the first tube-holding assemblyis a first tube-holding clamp, and the second tube-holding assemblyis a second tube-holding clamp.

In at least one example embodiment, the first tube-holding assemblymay include a first or bottom clamp portion (which may also be referred to as a bottom portion)and a second or top clamp portion (which may also be referred to as a top portion). The bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay be movably coupled to the top clamp portionof the first tube-holding assembly, such that the first tube-holding assemblymay move between a closed position to an open position via the coupling. For example, the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay be fixedly secured to a major planeof the tube welding deviceand a top clamp portionmay be moveable between a first (or closed) clamp state as illustrated, for example, inand a second (or open) clamp state as illustrated, for example, in. In at least one example embodiment, a hinge may couple the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblyand the top clamp portionof the first tube-holding assembly.

Similarly, in at least one example embodiment, the second tube-holding assemblymay include a first or bottom clamp portion (which may also be referred to as a bottom portion)and a second or top clamp portion (which may also be referred to as a top portion). The bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay be movably coupled to the top clamp portionof the second tube-holding assembly, such that the second tube-holding assemblymay move between a closed position to an open position via the coupling. For example, the bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay be fixedly secured to a major surfaceof the tube welding deviceand a top clamp portionmay be moveable between a first (or closed) clamp state as illustrated inand a second (or open) clamp state as illustrated in. In at least one example embodiment, a hinge may couple the bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblyand the top clamp portion.

The first and second tube-holding assemblies,are each configured to receive at least a portion of first tubeand at least a portion of a second tube. In at least one example embodiment, for example as illustrated in, the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay include a first tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfaceconfigured to receive or engage a first portion of the first tubeand a second tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfaceconfigured to receive or engage a first portion of the second tube. Similarly, the top clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay include a first tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfacealso configured to receive or engage the first portion of the first tubeand a second tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfacealso configured to receive or engage the first portion of the second tube. For example, the first tube-receiving creviceof the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay align with the first tube-receiving creviceof the top clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblyto form a first tube-receiving cavity(when the first tube-holding assemblyis in a closed state, as illustrated, for example, in). Likewise, the second tube-receiving creviceof the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblymay align with the second tube-receiving creviceof the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assemblyto form a second tube-receiving cavity(when the first tube-holding assemblyis in a closed state, as illustrated, for example, in).

Like the bottom clamp portionof the first tube-holding assembly, the bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay include a first tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfaceconfigured to receive or engage a second portion of the first tubeand a second tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfaceconfigured to receive or engage a second portion of the second tube. The top clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay include a first tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfacealso configured to receive or engage the second portion of the first tubeand a second tube-receiving crevice or recess or surfacealso configured to receive or engage the second portion of the second tube. For example, the first tube-receiving creviceof the bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay align with the first tube-receiving creviceof the top clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblyto form a third tube-receiving cavity(when the second tube-holding assemblyis in a closed state, as illustrated, for example, in). Likewise, the second tube-receiving creviceof the bottom clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblymay align with the second tube-receiving creviceof the top clamp portionof the second tube-holding assemblyto form a fourth tube-receiving cavity(when the second tube-holding assemblyis in a closed state, as illustrated, for example, in).

The tube welding devicemay be configured to move one or more portions of the first tube-holding assemblyand/or one or more portions of the second tube-holding assembly. In at least one example embodiment, the tube welding devicemay include one or more motorized mechanisms for moving the one or more portions of the first tube-holding assemblyand/or one or more portions of the second tube-holding assembly. For example, as detailed in the U.S. App. No. 63/455,873, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

In at least one example embodiment, the one or more portions of the first tube-holding assemblyand/or the one or more portions of the second tube-holding assemblymay be movable in a first direction along a major axis of the tube welding machineand/or a second direction along a minor axis of the tube welding machine. In at least one example embodiment, for example as illustrated, the one or more portions of the first tube-holding assemblyand one or more portions of the second tube-holding assemblymay both be in a first or initial positionsuch that the first tube-receiving cavityof the first tube-holding assemblyis aligned with the third tube-receiving cavityof the second tube-holding assemblyand the second tube-receiving cavityof the first tube-holding assemblyis aligned with the fourth tube-receiving cavityof the second tube-holding assembly.